When does an English become European?

I was talking to a breeder friend of mine in Europe recently.  She's been breeding English Goldens for about 30 years now, and her dogs are phenominal.  And she asked me a question that has befuddled me.  At what point does an English Golden Retriever become a European Golden Retriever?  There are some breeders who believe that the only English Golden worth breeding is one from the UK.  There are many fine UK Goldens from the UK but there are also some amazing Goldens from other places in the world .  Ashbury Conan Doyle is a beautiful dog from France who won the World Show in Denmark in 2010.  He's from France...part of Europe.   The Specialty Show I went to the day after the World Show had a world renowned Swedish breeder as judge.  He chose a wonderful dog as best in show from Spain....again in Europe.   Crufts, the UK equivalent of our Westminister Dog Show, awarded best in breed in 2010 to a Norwegian dog....again from Europe. 

The funny thing is that ALL Goldens came from the UK to start with.   Our American Goldens ancestors came from Scotland.   European Goldens all come from UK ancestors.  The question "When does an English Golden become a European Golden?" is so valid!  When does it become European?  When it's born in Europe?  How can that be if both parents are from the UK?   What if you have one parent from the UK and one from Europe?  Does that make the dog a European dog?  What if the parents are both European but the grandparents are from the UK?  Does this mean they are European now?    When does the magic switch turn on that makes a dog European instead of English? 

There are Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Mexican Americans, and the list goes on.  But what do these people all have in common?   They are Americans.  Why can't the same be applied to the English Golden Retriever?  They all came from the UK to begin with.  There are English Goldens, European Goldens, Canadian English Goldens and American English Goldens, but they are all English Goldens.  Instead of having to make a distinction between English and European, why can't they all just be English Golden Retrievers?   

At the end of the day, all English Golden Retrievers are from the UK.  Whether they came from the UK five generations ago or not, they are still English Goldens.    There are some kennels that are better known than others.   Some people prefer big bone, a wavy coat and color.  Others prefer a more straight coat that's blond in color.  But I just don't see where the magic switch is that suddenly makes an English Golden a European Golden.  Isn't the UK part of Europe anyway????